Sliding Down The Slippery Slope

As California goes, so goes the nation," is a familiar saying in
politics. No one hopes more than gun-control extremists that the
saying is true. If Congress and other states follow California's
increasingly aggressive lead on banning guns and ammunition, and
carry it to its extreme conclusion, most or all guns will
eventually be illegal to sell, and most or all ammunition will
eventually be illegal to shoot.

On October 13, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger buckled
under pressure from gun-ban supporters Sens. Dianne Feinstein,
D-Calif., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and signed into law A.B.
1471, expanding the state's so-called "unsafe handgun" ban. Urged
on by anti-hunting groups, Schwarzenegger also signed A.B. 821,
which bans hunting big game or coyotes with center-fire rifle and
pistol ammunition that contains lead in territory inhabited by
California condors. The laws lay the groundwork for broader bans on
guns and ammunition that, if history is any guide, will soon follow
in California and elsewhere.

Nothing in politics happens in a vacuum, and A.B. 1471 and A.B.
821 are no exceptions. Even before these bills, California had
already banned more rifles, pistols and shotguns than any other
state, starting with limited bans and expanding them
step-by-step.

In 1999, the California legislature expanded its 1989 "assault
weapon" ban to what the Brady Campaign calls a "model for the
nation": a ban on possession of not only military-looking
semi-automatic firearms, but also of many other detachable-magazine
semi-automatic rifles, fixed-magazine semi-automatic rifles,
compact center-fire rifles, home-defense shotguns and several
categories of handguns.

In 2001, California shifted its focus to conventional handguns
and became the only state to ban what it calls "unsafe handguns."
California defined that term to mean revolvers and semi-automatic
pistols that do not pass a drop test and a functioning test, and
that do not have certain types of mechanical safeties. In 2006, the
ban was expanded to semi-automatic pistols that do not have a
loaded-chamber indicator or a magazine disconnect. And in 2007, the
ban was expanded again, this time to cover semi-automatic pistols
that do not have both an indicator and a magazine disconnect. So
far, no manufacturer has been able to offer a loaded chamber
indicator that meets the California Department of Justice's
impossible standards for approval.

Now, A.B. 1471 imposes the state's fourth "unsafe handgun" ban
in just six years. As of January 1, 2010, California will prohibit
the sale of any new model of semi-automatic pistol that is not
equipped with two or more internal parts that imprint the fired
cartridge case with a microscopic array of characters that identify
the make, model and serial number of the pistol. This requirement
is based on patented "micro-stamping" technology available from
only one company-which, needless to say, joined gun-ban groups in
lobbying hard for the bill. Manufacturers cannot completely
redesign their factories to incorporate this unreliable technology
and will likely stop introducing new models in California.

According to micro-stamping advocates, the microscopic codes can
be entered into a computerized database before the gun leaves the
factory. Then, if a gun is used in a crime, police investigators
can supposedly pick up a cartridge case left at the scene, identify
the markings on the case, run them against the database, and
identify the criminal. Parroting one another, Feinstein and the
Brady Campaign claim that A.B. 1471 will make it possible for
California criminals to be "rapidly identified and arrested."

It's an interesting theory, but not as interesting as reality.
Tests published by the Association of Firearm and Toolmark
Examiners in 2006 found that the vast majority of micro-stamped
characters cannot be read on fired cartridge cases. After similar
results in a study at the University of California, Davis,
researchers called the technology "flawed," and concluded, "At the
current time it is not recommended that a mandate for
implementation of this technology in all semi-automatic handguns in
the state of California be made." Both studies found that the
markings on firing pins were easily removed in seconds with common
household tools.

Even if micro-stamping worked as advertised, there are many
practical reasons it cannot live up to its advocates' claims. For
one thing, three-fourths of violent crimes, including one-third of
murders and three-fifths of robberies, are committed without guns.
Most crimes involving firearms do not involve shots fired, so there
are no fired cases to be recovered by police.

Even if criminals leave cases behind, "micro-stamping" cannot
guarantee a link between a gun and its purchaser unless the gun is
registered. Criminals do not generally register guns, of course.
The Supreme Court has ruled that, under the Fifth Amendment's
protection against self-incrimination, felons (prohibited from
possessing guns) cannot be required to register guns. And almost
nine of every 10 criminals who use guns get them through theft or
on the black market. Requiring "micro-stamping" will only encourage
thefts and expand the black market.

Criminals can also thwart micro-stamping by leaving previously
fired brass (picked up at shooting ranges, for instance) at crime
scenes to throw investigators onto the trail of innocent
citizens.

Regarding A.B. 821, practical realities were of no greater
importance to a majority of California state legislators and
Schwarzenegger where the ban on big game and coyote hunting with
lead bullets was concerned.

By way of background, the California condor is listed as an
endangered species. The birds have long occupied an area northwest
of Los Angeles, and are also found in parts of Arizona, Utah and
Mexico. Since 1997, one California condor has died of exposure to
lead, eight others have been treated to reduce toxic lead levels,
and all condors examined have had detectable lead in their
blood.

A.B. 821's supporters pointed to a study led by Molly Church of
the University of California, Santa Cruz, which concluded that
"incidental ingestion of ammunition embedded in carcasses that
condors feed on is the principal source of elevated lead exposure
that threatens the recovery of condors in the wild." However, Don
Saba, a research scientist in biochemistry and medicine (and a
member of the NRA Board of Directors) reviewed the Church study and
found that it "knowingly omitted critical data ... [that] indicate
that the source of lead in the blood of condors is not from
ammunition, but rather originates from some other source of lead in
the environment."

As other possible sources of lead, a study for the California
Department of Game and Fish, conducted at UC Davis, pointed to
natural deposits, disposal of items that contain lead (such as
batteries) and residue from leaded gasoline exhaust, among others.
Similarly, a study commissioned by NRA, and conducted by
environmental consultant Dr. Thomas D. Wright and environmental
scientist Dr. Richard K. Peddicord, found that "there is no
documentation or direct evidence" that condors ingest enough lead
from ammunition to account for the lead found in their tissues.
Wright and Peddicord concluded that the types of lead found in
condors "(1) vary widely, (2) are not different from background
lead ratios in the California environment and (3) are not unique to
ammunition."

Before the California legislature approved A.B. 821, the
California Game and Fish Commission was studying the issue and
receiving input from the public on how best to address it. The
Commission was well aware of hunters' concerns. For example, a 2006
survey by Responsive Management found that 73 percent of hunters-in
keeping with the conservationist tradition-would be willing to take
voluntary steps to reduce the amount of lead they leave in the
field. On the other hand, 25 percent said they'd hunt out of state,
hunt less or quit big game hunting entirely-a prospect that could
have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in economic
losses, and cost over 2,200 jobs supported by hunters.

These hunters' reactions are understandable. While many happily
use non-lead bullets and find them effective, ammunition
availability is limited for those who don't handload. An average
hunter who wants to use dad's old .300 Savage or .35 Whelen is out
of luck. Even "non-lead" bullets contain trace amounts of lead-a
fact the Game and Fish Commission warned Schwarzenegger about
before he signed the bill.

The Commission is responsible for making management decisions
about the state's wildlife resources, and protecting and restoring
endangered species within the state. It should have been allowed to
do its job. In the end, though, the legislature and governor
preemptively imposed the lead ammunition ban, though its benefits
to condors are little more than speculative.

When it comes to micro-stamping or ammunition bans, we don't
need a crystal ball to predict the future. Proposed federal
legislation shows that gun-control supporters will push to expand
the micro-stamping law to cover all new semi-automatic pistols, and
perhaps more. H.R.1874, introduced in Congress by Rep. Robert
Andrews, D-N.J., proposes to prohibit any firearm available now or
in the future-rifle, shotgun or handgun, semi-automatic or not-that
does not "micro-stamp" effectively with every type of ammunition,
every time.

And while California's lead-ammunition ban applies only to
hunting certain game within a portion of the state, it is
inconceivable that gun-control supporters will miss the chance to
cover non-hunting uses of guns. The most radical anti-gun group in
the country, the Violence Policy Center, is already on record
claiming that "any possible benefits of firearm safety training are
outweighed by the risk of lead poisoning," and that "states and
localities should consider moratoriums [sic] on the construction of
new ranges."

After many victories in gun control battles at the federal,
state and local levels in recent years, these two new laws in
California foreshadow a new, long-term challenge to our Right to
Keep and Bear Arms. Gun owners should take note, and prepare for
more battles to ensure that these latest ideas don't spread
nationwide.

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.